Railway-track structure



Patented June 8, 1926.

UNITED STATES RICHARD A. WHITTINGHAM, OF NEWARK, DELAWARE.

RAILWAY-TRACK STRUCTURE.

Application led October 23, 1924- Serial No. 745,466.

This invention relates to a railway track structure whereby the heads ofthe track rails are continuously supported by stringers, and thesestringers are so designed that they may rest directly upon the ballastand give the necessary support-to the rails without the use ofcross-ties. The Stringer of my invention is composed of rolled steelplates arranged at opposite sides of the track rail and supporting thesame, each plate comprising a flat bearing portion, of substantialwidth, adapted to rest upon the ballast, a flanged portion extendingupwardly from one edge of the bearing portion and adapted to engage theunderside of the head of the track rail, to support the same, and a webportion extending downwardly from the bearing portion, the webs ot' theopposing plates bein@` adapted to extend deeply into the ballast andprevent lateral displacement of the track.

The stringer plates are secured together and to the rail by boltspassing through the flanges of the plates and the webs of the rails.rThe webs of the plates are not secured to one another, but are engagedat their lower parts by clamps or yokes which allow the plates to berocked apart, to permit of' the insertion or removal of a rail, when thebolts are removed from the flanges. Thus, the fastening devices for thestringers are all above the roadbed, where they are accessible at alltimes.

At suitable intervals in the length of the track, ties are employed toconnect together the stringers which support the opposing rails of thetrack, and these ties are formed so as to engage the bearing portionsand the webs of the stringers and to hold the stringers and the rails atthe proper gage while the ballast is being tamped under the stringers.These ties are secured to the stringers by fastening devices which areaccessible from the surface of the roadbed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a railway track embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the track and roadbed, the railsand stringers being shown in perspective;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing one side of one of the Stringerplates;

Fig. l is a similar View showing the other side of one of said plates;and

Fig. 5 is a section through a modified form of ltrack structure.

Referring to Figs. 1-4 of the drawing, a

represents a ballasted railway roadbed, b

indicates the rolled metal plates composing the stringers, c representsthe track rails, and cross-rods or ties are shown at d, for maintainingthe alinement and gage of' the track while the ballast is being tampedunder the stringers during construction, or afterwards.

Each stringeris composed of the opposing steel plates b-b, of similarform in cross section, and the plates are of such form that they may bereadily manufactured by rolling. As shown, each plate comprises a flat,relatively wide, bearing portion 1, adapted to rest directly on theballast, and having an upstanding flange 2, at one edge, which is of theform and height of an 0rdinary splice-bar. This flange is adapted toengage the under side of the rail head to support the same, and theflanges of the opposing plates are bolted together through the web ofthe rail by bolts e, which hold the llanges firmly against the rail. Theweb portion 3 extends downwardly from the under side otl the bearingportion along a line on the latter which is intermediate its edges, asshown at 3a, thence extending laterally, as shown at 3b, to a pointbeneath the track rail, thence extending horizontally outward in theform of a foot or flange, as shown at 31. opposing plates and thebearing portions above them form a channel j", below the bearingportion, wide enough to receive the base of an ordinary track rail. Inthe drawing, a double-headed rail is shown, one head being within thechannel, and when the upper head is worn, the rail may be reversed tobring the lower head into use. Obviously, rails consisting merely ofheads and webs may be used with the stringers; lbut the channel belowthe bearing portions of the stringeris provided for receiving the headsof double-headed rails or thebases of T- rails, when such are used.

The plates comprising the stringers are of the same lengths as therails, and in laying the track the plates composing the Stringer arearranged so that the joints between the successive plates on one sideof.

a Stringer will be between the joints of the successive .platescomposing the other side ofthe stringer, and also so that the jointsbetween successive rails will not occur at the joints between successiveplates of a Stringer.

The parts 3a, 3b, of the Thus, the rail heads will have continuoussupport at the joints.

At suitable intervals, the String-ers which support the two rails of atrack are connected by metal ties d, having at each end a yoke d whichextends beneath the stringer and has its outer end 4- bent over to forma sort of hook for engaging the edge of the bearing portion of the outerStringer plate, as shown. Clips 5, removably secured to thev ties, areadapted to engage the inner edges of the bearing portions of' the innerstringer plates. The central parts of' the yoke cl are formed So as tofit rather closely around. the feet 3d of the Stringer plates. Theseyokes prevent the webs from spreading under pressure of the load. Thetie, as shown in the drawing, is composed of two parts connected by aninsulating fitting 6, of standard form, which need not be described;These fittings are commonly used where it is'neeessary to keep the trackrails electrically insulated from one another. The ties "el arepreferably placed at points where a. joint occurs in the Stringerplates. The chief function of the tie is to maintain the track. rails atthe proper gage while the ballast is being tamped under the stri' eitherduring construction, or afterimids. The bearing portions of thestringere extend outwardly for a distance of about 7 from the centralplane of the track rail, at opposite sides of the latter, and thestrueture is supported directly by the ballast which is tamped under thebearing portions and under the horizontal portions 3b of the webs andunder the lower flanges 3d. The Webs extend rather deeply into theballast and prevent any lateral displacement oit the Structure.

It will be see-n from the foregoing that the Stringer struct-uredescribed provides a continuous rigid support for the track rails, whichprevents breakage of the rails, and thaty the structure has amplebearing surface. on the ballast to support the rails, without the usualwooden cross-ties or sleepers. It will also be evident that any usualvform of railway rail may be snpported by the Stringer structure and thatthe plates of the Stringer structure are of such' form that they can bemade by he rolling process, which is important from a manufacturingstandpo'nt.

The only fastening devices required to hold the Stringer plates togetherand to the track rail are the track bolts which pass through the flangesof the plates and the web of the rail. lVhen these and the clips 5 areremoved, the plates may be moved relatively to one another, Since thewebs of theV plates are not fastened together, but merely held fromspreading by the yokes or clamps. By jacking up the Stringer platos fromthe bottom, the plates may be rocked apart to remove or insert rails.Thus, all of' the fastening devices which must be removed or replaced,to remove or replace a rail, are accessible without the necessity ot'going beneath the surface of the ballast.

In Fig. 5, the Structure is the same as in the previously describedfigures, except that the websv 3f of the plates are flat and in linewith the flanges 2a. This form of' plate is desirable where the rail cconsists merely of a head and web, as shown.

What I claim is:

l. A. railway track structure comprising a rail and a Stringer, thelatter composed of similar reVersely-arranged plates, each plate havinga relatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbed andprojecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the bottom ofthe rail, a flange projecting upwardly from the bearing portion at theside of the web of the rail, and a web extending below the bearingportion.

2. A railway track structure comprising a rail and a Stringer, thelatter composed of similar reversely arranged plates, each plate havinga relatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbed andprojecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the bottom of'the rail, a flange projecting upwardly from thc inner edge oitl the'bearing portion and a 'web extending below the bearing portion, saidrail being supported by and between said flanges.

3. A railway track structure comprising a rail and a stringer, thelatter composed of similar reversely arranged plates, each plate havinga relatively wide bearing portion adapted to upon the roadbed andprojecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the bottom ofthe rail, a flange projecting upwardly from the inner edge of thebearing portion and a web extending below the bearing portion, said railhaving a head supported on said flanges antl a web bolted between saidflanges.

4. A railway track structure comprising a` rail and a stringer, thelatter composed of similar reversely arranged plates, each rest platehaving relatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbedand projecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the bottomot the rail, a flange projecting upwardly from the inner edge.

of the bearing portion ana a web ez-rtending below the bearing portion,said rail being supported by and between said flanges,` and meansengaging said webs and j n'eventing their lateral separation. l

A. railnf'ay traer structure comprising a rai and a stringer, the lattercomposed of similar reversely arranged plates, each plate ha arelatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbed andprojecting laterally for a considerable distance beyond the bottom ofthe rail, a flange pro- Sli jecting upwardly from the inner edge of thehearing portion and a web extending below the bearing portion, said railbeing supported y and between said flanges, and means engaging Said websand separable therefrom, for preventing the lateral separation of thewebs.

6, A railway trac-k structure comprising a rail and a Stringer, thelatter composed of similar reversely arranged plates, each plate havinga relatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbed andprojecting laterally for a considerable dist-ance beyond the hottoni oi'the rail, a flange projecting upwardly from the inner edge of thehearing portion and a web extending below the hearing portion, Said railbeing supported by and hetween said flanges, and a yoke fitting aroundthe lower edges of said webs.

A railway track structure comprising a rail and a Strii'iger, the lattercomprising two similar reversely arranged plates each having' arelatively wide bearing portion adapted to rest upon the roadbed andprojecting laten-illy for a considerable distance beyond the bottoni ofthe rail, a flange projectiug upwardly from the inner edge of thehearing portion and fitting against the web and beneath the head of therail and a web extending downwardly from the bearing portion, the wehsof both plates lying adjacent one another in the plane of' the rail, andholts extending through said flanges and the web ol' the rail, saidplates being separately movable when said bolts are removed.

8. A railway track structure comprising parallel rails and stringerssupporting the rails, each stringer comprising' two similar reyerselyarranged plates, each plate having a relatively wide bearing portionadapted to rest noon the roadhed and having a flange projecting upwardlyfrom the bearing` portion and fitting against the web of the rail andhaving a weh extending downwardly from the hearing portion, and boltsextending` through said flanges and the web of the combination withyokes, each having a central portion fitting around the lower parts ofthe plates of a Stringer and detachahly secured at its ends to thehearing portions of said plates, and means connecting the yokes on theopposing stringere` ot' the track structure.

9. ri railway Stringer plate comprising a. substantially flat hearingportion, an npswnding flange at one edge thereof adapted to e gage thehead ot a track rail and a web port on extending downwardly from thehearing portion along a line spaced from said flange, thence extendinglaterally under the flange, and thence downwardly.

l0. A railway Stringer plate comprising a substantially flat bearingportion, an upstanding flange atone edge thereof adapted to engage thehead of a track rail and a web portion extending` downwardly from thebearing portion along a line spaced from said flange, thence extendinglaterally under the tiange, thence downwardly, and thence laterallyinthe opposite direction.

ll, A railway Stringer plate comprising a substantially fiat bearingportion, an up* standing flange. at one edge thereof adapted to engagethe head ol a track rail and a web portion extending downwardly from thehearing portion along a line spaced from said flange, thence extending'laterally below and beyond the. flange, and thence down wardly.

l2, A railway stringer plate comprising a substantially fiat bearingportion, an upstanding flange at one edge thereof adapted to gage thehead of a track rail and a weh portion extending downwardly from thehearing portion along a line spaced from sai-d flange, thence extendinglaterally below and beyond the liange, thence downwardly, and thencelaterally in the opposite direction.

lil. railway stringer comprising two similar opposed plates, each platehaving a antistantially flat bearing portion, an upstanding flange atone edge thereof adapted to engage the headof a track rail and haw ing aweb portion extending downwardly from the hearing portion along a linespaced from Said flange, thence extending laterally, beneath the flange,toward the opposing plate and thence downwardly.

lat. The combination with a railway rail of' a Stringer comprising twosimilar rerersely arranged plates disposed at opposite sides of therail, each plate having a substanally flat hearing portion adapted torest upon the roadhechan upright flange fitting under the head of therail, and a web portion extending downwardly from the bearportion alonga line spaced from said thence laterally beneath the track rail andthence downwardly, and bolts passing through said flanges and the web ofthe track rail.

in testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

BlGHiiBD A. VHITTINGHAM.

